CG Garage

About CG Garage

Since 2014, CG Garage has brought lively, informal conversations with Oscar-winning legends, visionary artists, and the innovators driving the industry's biggest technological leaps. From in-depth interviews to spirited roundtable discussions, hosts Chris Nichols and Daniel Thron explore the art, craft, and future of filmmaking. With Hollywood in the middle of a major revolution, we talk to the filmmakers who are making that transformation possible, covering everything from behind-the-scenes stories on iconic movies to the cutting-edge tools reshaping the industry.

Publisher

Monstrous Moonshine

Category

technology · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Nov 2014

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

569 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   The Next Nolan and Scorsese Are Coming Out of YouTube | Episode 569

   Most VFX supervisors trained on tentpoles have no idea how to make an independent film. Ed Douglas (VFX supervisor on Kane Parsons' Backrooms) and Peter Timberlake (VFX on Curry Barker's Obsession) have built careers doing exactly that, and they're back with Chris and Daniel for a Rough Cut on where VFX leadership is heading. Ed recently bid the same work at $8,000 with a legacy vendor and $250 elsewhere, which is why on a $10 million film he works as supervisor and VFX producer at once. Peter makes the case that big-studio pipelines got complicated to impress other pipeline TDs, and both of them have blunt advice for graduates who can't find a studio that's hiring. The panel also takes on AI. The year's breakout films came from YouTube-native directors working without generative tools, while Scorsese has signed on to advise Black Forest Labs. Ed argues the word "AI" now covers dozens of unrelated technologies and the industry needs sharper language for them. Chris raises the one-person Grok remake of The Odyssey and the IMAX audience that booed an AI ad before Nolan's film started. The episode closes on tax subsidies and whether they've made movies more expensive. Panel links and mentions Peter Timberlake on LinkedIn > (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-timberlake-/) Peter Timberlake on IMDB > (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7329375/) Peter Timberlake on Instagram > (https://www.instagram.com/peter__timberlake/) Queen Studio > (https://www.queen.studio/) Edward Douglas on LinkedIn > (https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardjdouglas/) Edward Douglas on IMDB > (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1765309/) Films mentioned: Backrooms, Obsession, The Odyssey, Zodiac, The Irishman, The Batman, Oblivion, Tron: Legacy, The Day After Tomorrow, Jurassic Park, Rogue One, The Rise of Skywalker, Avatar, Digger Companies and tools mentioned: ILM, Weta FX, Digital Domain, Black Forest Labs (Flux), Grok, Wonder Studios, A24, Queen Studio, VIEW Conference, USC ICT (Institute for Creative Technologies), Blender, Nuke, Maya, After Effects, Full Sail University People mentioned: Kane Parsons, Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Osgood Perkins, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, James Cameron, Tom Cruise, Paul Debevec, Richard Crudo, Steve "Spaz" Williams, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan Premier Sponsor: Center Grid Virtual Studio

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   I Called CAA to See If My Agent Still Worked There | Jonathan Goldman | Episode 568

   Jonathan Goldman called CAA to find out if his agent still worked there, and the replies to his Threads post said more about Hollywood's middle layer than most trade coverage this year. Jonathan has spent thirty years on the development side of the business. He started as Phillip Noyce's assistant, directed second unit for him, then rose from story producer to showrunner at Thom Beers' Original Productions on series including Ice Road Truckers. Last year he pitched six projects with CAA packaging and A-list partners. One got a development step, and the network passed a year later. Chris and Daniel get their answer about CAA. Jonathan's version is that the people who greenlight shows aren't paid to take risks, in a town that gamblers built. The route there runs through Noyce handing him second unit at Shea Stadium once he'd fetched the coffee, a Phoenix strip club series he pitched as the Sopranos of the Southwest, a Terlingua, Texas murder trial he covered for Nat Geo, and why Obsession, Backrooms, Widow's Bay and Coyote vs. Acme all made the same case for leaving creatives alone. He also predicts the next studio mistake, which is plucking a YouTube director for the full studio treatment and then declaring YouTube filmmaking over when the movie tanks. Guest links Jonathan Goldman on IMDB > (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0325811/) Jonathan Goldman on Threads > (https://www.threads.com/@mywitsend?hl=en) Jonathan Goldman on LinkedIn > (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangoldman-/) Companies, films and shows mentioned: CAA, WGA, DGA, Original Productions, Fremantle, Warner Bros. Discovery, National Geographic, Apple TV, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Netflix, A24, Neon, Miramax, Paramount, The Saint, Clear and Present Danger, The Bone Collector, Dead Calm, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, Badlands, Texas, Obsession, Backrooms, Widow's Bay, Coyote vs. Acme, The Bourne Supremacy, Apocalypse Now Premier Sponsor Center Grid Virtual Studio > (https://cgvirtualstudio.com/)

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   A Record Summer, Yet Studios Still Can't Pick Winners | CG Garage #567

   Warner Bros. was ready to write off Coyote vs. Acme, and after a sale to another company it has taken in about $85 million as of this episode's release. That sits inside a summer that put $4.7 billion through the box office, a record in dollars with ticket sales still short of the peak, and theaters full of young people lining up for smaller originals like Buddy alongside Nolan's Odyssey and Spider-Man. Chris, Daniel, and James Blevins read it as proof that the majors can no longer pick winners. Daniel adds that Neon and A24 now sell what the studios used to sell, an identity people buy tickets on. Daniel said on an earlier episode that if Backrooms hit, everyone should look into SCP and liminal space horror. A24, the studio behind Backrooms, has since taken worldwide rights to V/H/S: SCP, set for a 2027 theatrical release. Daniel says Spielberg is producing The Mandela Catalogue and Siren Head is headed for a major movie, all from a horror genre born on YouTube that the studios missed while they skipped two generations of filmmakers. He expects There Is No Antimemetics Division to be the next book bought for a film. Chris asks whether anyone can own Backrooms at all. The panel also talks through the Paramount and Warner Bros. deal just days before the settlement was announced. AI gets its own stretch, starting with the AI film festival running alongside Venice and the new guild agreements, and turning into an argument over whether the flood of mediocre AI work corrects itself. James says it does. Chris points to ZBrush and its identical alien creatures. The show ends on Daniel's lineup for a Monstrous Moonshine Film Festival, where Stripes and Full Metal Jacket count as the same movie. Tools and companies mentioned: Warner Bros., Paramount, A24, Neon, Spooky Pictures, Image Nation Studios, ZBrush, Panavision, SAG-AFTRA, WGA Premier Sponsor: Center Grid Virtual Studio >

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Apple Podcasts (US)

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1 ratings

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